Evans noticed a bunch of pawpaws ripening within easy reach of her deck overlooking the Sangamon River near Buckhart, Ill., recently. She is active in Slow Food Springfield, a group that emphasizes locally grown foods. And what could be more local than the back deck?

Evans says she has gathered about a dozen and a half of the oblong green fruits so far, enough pawpaws to cook with this fall. One recipe she makes is custard, to which she adds a cup of mashed pawpaw.

According to “Native Trees for North American Landscapes,” by Guy Sternberg and Jim Wilson of public television’s “The Victory Garden,” pawpaws aren’t readily cultivated for market due to problems with shipping and storage. They bruise easily and can go south very quickly once they start to ripen.

Pawpaws start out hard and green and turn a lighter color with shades of yellow as they ripen.

Sternberg and Wilson note that pawpaw trees sometimes don’t produce a lot of fruit due to difficulties with pollination.

“I’ve never got enough fruit before, as many times as I have looked,” Evans says. “I’ve never been able to find enough ripe fruit.”

But this year the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, and Evans was able to pick all the pawpaws within easy reach. A quick trip down a wooden stairway to the riverbank yielded a few more.

Evans, who served as a naturalist at the Cache River State Natural Area in southern Illinois before moving to Springfield, says she likes to gather raspberries, blackberries, wild asparagus and pawpaws growing wild in central Illinois.

And with the movement toward supporting locally grown foods gaining momentum, it’s only natural that fruits, nuts and berries produced by native trees and shrubs get a second look.

Perhaps little Susie was on to something all along.

Pawpaw Custard

From Tracy Evans

1 cup milk
1 cup cream
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup pawpaw puree

Mix ingredients and pour into custard cups. Place washcloth in bottom of baking pan and set the cups on top. Fill pan halfway with boiling water. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes.

Cream the butter or margarine and cream cheese together. Gradually add the sugar, and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the mashed bananas or pawpaw and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and soda; mix until batter is just moist.

In a small bowl, mix together chopped pecans, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and cinnamon.

Divide 1/2 batter into 2 greased and floured 8-by-4-inch loaf pans. Sprinkle pecan mixture over batter in pans, and top with remaining batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 2 loaves.

Chris Young can be reached at chris.young@sj-r.com.

Did you know?

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the pawpaw’s range covers most of the central United States from Pennsylvania in the east to Nebraska in the west. It extends from the Gulf Coast north to Wisconsin, Michigan and New York, even extending into southern Ontario, Canada.

American Indians used pawpaws for thousands of years. The Lewis and Clark expedition turned to pawpaws for food when their stores ran out in the fall of 1806, according to “Native Trees for North American Landscapes.”

On the ‘Net

Kansas State University boasts the only full-time pawpaw research program in the world, and offers recipes at www.pawpaw.kysu.edu/pawpaw/recipes.htm.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.